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Topic: Honeybunny Moons? (Read 4260 times)

Do we have a thread already for honeymoons? I was thinking it might be nice to share any recommendations/warnings, or to talk about what we do with our DBL lovelies while traveling. When I was in Rome last year, my over-protective aunt wouldn't let me wear Goldie-Rocks out of the house! When I visited Assisi on a side trip by myself, I had to sneak her out of the house in my pocket ;-)

That, and..I need to SQUEEEEE about our choice of honeymoon locale! Because of small children, smaller bank account balances and James' new job, we've decided to go on our honeymoon on our 1st anniversary instead. We put a map up on the wall and pored over it for weeks before deciding that we've both *always* wanted to go to Scotland! We have nearly a year to save up and research where to go and what to do, but I'm still bouncing up and down in my chair at the thought!

I'm not Mrs. M,.... and no doubt she will have loads of great suggestions, .....but as a Brit, raised by a Scotsman, I LOVE Edinburgh! And the West Coast Isles, Bute and Aran, and St. Andrews, and Aberdeen, and,...taking the train from London to Scotland, shopping for tartan and eating bashed neeps and tatties, and tablet, and shortbread ! And you HAVE to go to one of the distilleries, and go scotch tasting !!Ooohhh,.... making me a little homesick!!!You will have just the best time!!!

How lovely that you will pick Scotland to visit! My husband is dying to go there himself.

As for jewelry some of it can depend on how comfortable you feel, where you are traveling and what kind of insurance you have on your pieces.

I used to leave all my nice stuff at home while traveling. Now? Not so much. Unless I was doing a total off the beaten path type of vacation (and knowing me that is so NOT likely) I would bring it with me, but only what I would wear while on vacation. I wouldn't bring things I had zero intention or even very little intention of wearing.

Granted I do not travel somewhere unsafe where I might feel preyed upon, but truthfully I can't think of a place where I didn't feel comfortable wearing my yellow and pink diamonds. To me where, what and insurance do dictate what to bring. If I were to travel to Scotland I would definitely bring my daily wear and not think twice.

LOL I have a very large, combat-trained husband..I'll definitely follow your advice, Squigs, and only take what I'm absolutely planning to wear, but I think James will make sure that Goldie-Rocks doesn't leave my finger

When does the heather bloom? I've always wanted to see that! And I know what "neeps and tatties" are, but, what's a tablet?? (Oh, please be some kind of a cookie...)

Debangel I think if you both are comfortable bringing it, then I'd be fine with it. I don't trust safes in rooms, so that's why I bring what I can wear. My last vacation I had my diamond hoops and studs, Sunny & 2 anniversary bands. I did leave Pinky at home just because and I regretted it. Next trip she goes with me always My hoops, Sunny and Pinky are all insured though. The 2 anniversary bands aren't and I am considering removing the hoops from my insurance next year because I can easily replace them if something happens to them. I also don't feel the "need" to replace them per say if something happens to them.

Ok, so... I don't know. I mean, I live here so I don't know what I'd want to do here if I was a tourist on a short visit!

I guess it depends on what sort of trip you're interested in - vibrant, lively cities, majestic scenery in scarcely populated mountains and glens, historical stuff, modern art / culture, or a mix of a little bit of everything?

I used to live in Glasgow, which is an amazing city with a vibrant culture and a rich heritage. It's also the city of violent crime (it's fairly small, and there is more violent crime than in the whole tri-State area most years) but (and this is a big but) civilians are rarely the target. If you aren't bothering anyone, being a bit wide or joining a gang, you'll be fine. It's fine to wear jewellery there (I have a fair amount and I wear it most days). No one will bother you for it. As with any city, if you feel uncomfortable in an area, leave. It's ok, generally, if you don't go looking for trouble. "What are you looking at, pal?" is not a friendly question and should always be interpreted as the onset of hostitilies. If you hear it, run.

Edinburgh is the capital city, where the Parliament sits. Much more refined (and therefore not as much fun). Well worth spending some time there though, there's a lot to do. Museums (including the Museum of Scotland in in Edinburgh, and the National Portrait Gallery). Awesome restaurants and wonderful architecture. Royal stuff, if that floats your boat. Not as cool as Glasgow (and there is plenty healthy rivalry between the two cities) but still a very cool place to visit.

If you like nature and scenery and stuff, we have a whole bunch of that too. The Scottish Borders, the Solway Firth area and so on are at the southern end of the country, while up North you get mountains, glens, lochs and (depending on the time of year) an awful lot of midges and tourists. Midges will bite you, but the tourists are usually friendly. You can pan for gold in the Lead Hills if you feel like it. Or go fishing on Speyside. Golf at St Andrews is always popular, but if that interests you, book a loooooong time in advance and be prepared to take on the national debt of a small nation to play a round. It's eyewateringly expensive there.

There are whisky distilleries to visit, with wares for you to taste. Plenty of pretty places to eat wonderful food and lovely places to stay. Our beaches are incredible, but don't rely on it being warm enough to want to sit on them (ever). Wonderful for walking on, though.

The central belt is a good base for a shorter visit, and it stretches more or less from Glasgow to Edinburgh. There are excellent transport links there, and to the major cities. When you go more rural, using public transport will take a bit more planning (but of course can be done). Glasgow and Edinburgh are roughly an hour apart, less by high speed rail.

If you let me know where you're thinking of staying / what type of things you're interested in, I can make some suggestions. You're going to love it here, you really are!

We're definitely scenery-type folks. The heather, the glens, the lochs..and of course, I want to see Loch Ness, cheesy tourist destination or no. We're more the tiny B&B type, and would love to eat fresh local cuisine vs. going to fancy restaurants (we're both gluten-free, although I have a Large Cheat planned for some buttery shortbread!). Walking on the beach sounds wonderful

What "part of town" are you in? I think we're going to hit the library this weekend, and get some books/print out a map to organize our plan of attack ;-)

And have you seen the [fake, and admittedly inaccurate, but totally hysterical] Scottish iPhone commercial for Siri?

Have you ever actually been to Stirling? I can see it from where I'm sitting, and can pretty much guarantee there will be some sort of anti-social behaviour going on...

I live in Fife, on the East Coast. I'm roughly 40 minutes away from both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

If you need a special diet, you'll be fine in the cities and bigger towns, but you're going to struggle in more remote places, to say the least. The further north / more rural you get, the more chance you have of being told what to do with a request for gluten (or anything else) free... If you book in advance, check that out before you get there, to be sure your host will a) know what that means and b) will be helpful about it. Probably be ok, but do check. There are a few places to eat that are literally world famous, but some of them will not offer much (if any) choice on their menu - you get the daily special, take it or leave it, so you need to speak to them in advance if you're picky or have things you need to avoid.

Take a look at this website - some are awe inspiringly expensive, others more modest, but they are all very nice indeed. The Peat Inn near St Andrews is on this list and it has a stellar reputation for food, but it's a daily special type arrangement.

Afternoon tea at Gleneagles is charming, or if you're feeling a bit spendy, go to the Michelin starred restaurant (Andrew Fairlie at Gleneales). It's expensive, but I promise you it is worth every penny. There is also a Michelin starred restaurant in Leith, by Edinburgh (Kitchins). Very, very good. Leith is a good place to get fresh, contemporary Scottish cuisine generally - very vibrant food and drink scene there. We're more famous for whisky, but our ales are not to be missed either. However, if you want the ultimate Scottish meal, with the finest ingredients and just that X factor, you have to visit Champany Inn. It's like nothing else on earth. I've eaten in some of the finest restaurants in cities all over the world (seriously, food is my first priority when I visit any new place...) and I've yet to find one that will truly rival Champany. If you can possibly swing it, stay the night. You can thank me later...(seriously, it really is THAT good).

Have you ever actually been to Stirling? I can see it from where I'm sitting, and can pretty much guarantee there will be some sort of anti-social behaviour going on...

Shurely not at the top of the hill at the castle, shurely?

Mind you - a place where the parish church is called "Holy Rude" may have a few rough edges. And I have to admit that my latest visit to Stirling was almost exactly 20 years ago, in the summer of 1992.

The route up to the castle, or as it's known, Top of the Town, is what we'd describe round these parts as being as rough as f***. When I worked with the police there, if there was a murder / assault / robbery / other random misdeed pretty much anywhere in Scotland, the first thing they did was check the CCTV from the Top of the Town. I once enjoyed a really lovely coffee and cake there, after a riot forced me off the street. I was with some riot police at the time, but they wanted to wait until it calmed down a bit. If you're ever in that area, there's a really nice little cafe with boarded up windows, serves pretty much the nicest coffee cake I ever ate.

Crikey - it sounds like things have got much worse. I still remember a pleasant and totally anonymous walk up the hill, the church which despite the name isn't rude at all (won't pronounce on holy) and a lovely view over the lowlands from the castle - as well as some very interesting Renaissance buildings - I think I still have the photos somewhere.

Ok, so Moose and I are trying to narrow down our trip (which will be anywhere from 11-14 days total, traveling from Denver, CO) a bit, to do mostly "Highlands and Islands", but starting out in Edinburgh, with a stop in Fife to walk the coastal path (and maybe have a mini-DBL meet up? Mrs. M, if you bring shortbread and tea, I'll cook you an authentic Italian dinner..). We're getting bogged (GET IT? BOG??) down with the immense amount of choices of islands. I mean, we're going to a country that's part of an island, and going to islands off *that* island, and then there's more islands from there..we've just started our research, and we're already overly twitterpated

We're thinking Shetlands, partially because it was a toss-up between Scotland and Norway for our first big trip together. And the Orkneys and Outer Hebrides sound so gorgeous! Any pointers for coming up with an itinerary? (Other than starting off and ending up in the Edinburgh area, we're pretty open.) We want to tromp around, hike, bird-watch, see cool archeological ruins and EAT OURSELVES SICK. Think we'll absolutely need a car, or can we get by without one? I'd really rather not drive- that's part of the "vacation" idea for me.

Oh, and we'll be traveling with internal-frame backpacks, no other luggage. Who needs clothes on a honeymoon? (What sort of lingerie goes with a raincoat, anyway?)

Almost forgot..we're open to travel anytime between early June-early August. Midges don't especially like Italian food, do they??

I don't think you'd need a car, unless you wanted one particularly. The public transport networks aren't bad, unless you really are heading off the beaten track. You might need to plan journeys in a bit of detail, but most places I can think of are accessible by bus or rail (mostly bus, come to think of it).

The Fife costal path is amazing, and we could catch up with you somewhere there (or Edinburgh, I'm there at lot) but unless you want to walk round the whole of the uk coastline, a car will be a PITA - you'll have to get a bus back to collect it. Maybe get a car for the furthest north part of the trip if you want to, but the central belt is fairly well served with public transport. Shetland is a long way from the mainland, best to book a flight if you're going there. I've never been actually, but one of my friends grew up there - I can ask her about it from a visitor's perspective if you like?

Midges. Uh huh. They are rampant between May and September, and they bite like fury. They bite anything that moves, and many things that don't. Italians are on the menu, I'm afraid. It also rains a lot between June and August, they are very wet months I'm afraid. May and late September are often the best times for sunny weather, but even then, I offer you no guarantees... where do you think all these lochs came from?

I don't think you'd need a car, unless you wanted one particularly. The public transport networks aren't bad, unless you really are heading off the beaten track. You might need to plan journeys in a bit of detail, but most places I can think of are accessible by bus or rail (mostly bus, come to think of it). [snip]

Interesting that you and I have diametrically opposite takes on this, Jen. Perhaps I'm just totally disorganised, but I find that although one can get pretty much anywhere with public transport, the time and effort spent in doing so are so considerable (and if it involves trains in the UK the costs are so high) that it's not worth the pain/savings. Particularly so if one wants to see a couple of things in a day.

Slight side note: I just tried booking a flight Zurich to Lisbon for work. I have then had to explain to my travel manager that - even if it is the cheapest option and thus complies with company policy - a flight leaving at 6.30 am and getting me to Lisbon via Amsterdam at 13.40, and back the same route leaving at 14.30 (back in Zurich at 22.45), is not ideal if one actually wants to do some work in Lisbon as opposed to travelling to it...